Sunday, May 14, 2006

I finally downloaded and installed Explorer 7 beta2. The tab thing is still hard for me to get used to. Never did like the grouping feature XP has offered up till now, and even though firefox is sexy on the geek side, again the tabs just couldn't get overjoyed about. Just getting used to Ctrl+Tab instead of Alt+Tab.

One tip, if you have downloaded the new IE 7 is: How to get rid of the annoying blury text. Ready?

Thursday, May 11, 2006

I got my notice today: Update my subscription or dink SQ. (In case you are missing the point of this text, I've renewed my subscription.) Although I really haven't added any value here at all. Maybe it's time?

Quick Biz Update:

1 - Square Zebra is no longer "officially" running.

2 - Why? Because I was lured in by the Wireless Company.

3 - Am you giving up the Entrepreneur thing? Nope! I'm just gathering more education and background experience that was lacking in my skill set.

4 - So what do you do?

I work in the Network Technical Training Department. I'm currently manage the Motorola training across the enterprise, along with all of the "smaller" (under 500M) vendors. My goal, my mission statement if you will, is to ensure that our network employees are the smartest of the smart, the best of the best, the happiest of the happiest. That they have, at their fingertips a plethora of knowledge they can tap at any time, to build, grow, and learn to their hearts content. Or to the content of their manager's heart. *grin*

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Today I got a private little tour of the Motorola museum by two charming business managers. Although I tried desperately to talk them into taking me to Fry's instead. Did you know that Moto has been around for a good 75 years or so. Dabbling in a multitude of technologies from pocket radios to national defense.

And Moto, being a good vendor they are, thoroughly kissed my backside with lunch, compliments and travel mugs. ThankYouMoto.

Alas for those of you that don't know last fall I accepted a small consulting position that has now turned into a full time gig. (Just imagine me lording over 4,000 networking geeks… oh my gawd, I’m in HEAVEN!)

1 - Yes, Square Zebra is still running.

2 - I'm not giving up the 'change agent' mentality.

I am contemplating hiring someone on to handle the over flow.... (and maybe to update this blasted page.)

In the mean time if you have an questions, needs, or concerns I can always be reached via email.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

A common problem I am finding with small wireless networks is the continual drop off of connections. "My wireless internet keeps kicking me off line." "How come every time I start downloading I get kicked off the Internet?' "I have a repeater and I'm still getting kicked of my wireless connection."

Windows Zero Configuration Service (WZC) is a program that is supposed to make wireless networking a breeze and over all, it's a good idea. Problem: It's infuriating notion that the strongest signal it finds is your wireless connection.

So if your wireless connects/disconnects this is one way to fix it:

• Go to Control Panel.
• Choose Administrative Tools.
• Select Services. A two-pane window comes up.
• In the right-hand pane, scroll down and click Wireless Zero Configuration.
• Click Stop the Service. A progress bar may come up briefly.
• Click Start the Service. Again, a progress bar may come up.
• Close the Services window. At this point ... the connection should come back.

You can also turn it completely off and use your router (wireless card) network configurations instead of having windows auto configure.

If you have you haven't updated to SP2 I would suggest doing that. It will allow you more control over your wireless network,

Where have you been?
1 - I got a hair cut
2 - I took a weekend off (Sorrento Vaca)
3 - I house sat
4 - I did some traveling (Read that as driving like mad from client to client to client)
5 - I have been working tookus off

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Just in case you are under a rock here in Seattle... My Storm girls won last night! Quite frankly the only sports games I attend lately have been the Seattle Storm. First because I do so adore basketball but second and most important - the games are more family orientated/laid back/good time! The last game I went to I got free starbucks coffee, upgraded to box seats, the chance to watch the local kids perform at half time. Not like that is happening at a Seahawks game any time soon.

The arena workers (during Storm games) come across as more helpful, the event is 10x better organized, and I feel there is a higher level of sportsmanship (love of the game) then many other sporting events I have attended in the States.

The Storm claimed the city's first major professional sports championship in 25 years, going back to the SuperSonics winning the 1979 NBA title. It also gave Seattle coach Anne Donovan her first WNBA crown, having missed in 2001 with Charlotte.- Article

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

I can't say I learned a lot from my father when it comes to interpersonal communications but the one thing I did learn was that when it came to running a company one has to be realistic even if you are a visionary. So when I learned there was a new book out there titled, Confronting Reality: Doing what matters to get things done right I was thrilled! Finally a book I can get into! One that gives me the hard data! Not all that foo-foo "leadership" annoyances of the late 90's.

Apparently... well... maybe not so much.

One of the problems I have with this book is Bossidy and Charan spend too much time talking theoretically and not enough time talking tactically. (This non-MBAer could not relate to the majority of insight-through-hindsight case study examples referenced by the authors.) Another issue I have is the length of Confronting Reality. Sure it is less than 300 pages, but I think that the topic could have been covered more succinctly and with greater impact as a whiz-bang ten page Harvard Business Review article and not as book.- full review

The first VC I ever went out with was a portly gentleman who's claim to fame was Telecommunications. I believe he asked me out because I impressed him with my knowledge of the color code. I actually found the post where I mention our first introduction:

Dec. 21/2000 - I went to an open house last night for a cmt company downtown in the Pioneer district.... Party itself was ok - met some interesting people. Lots of cute geeks, CEO wannabe's, (and) a VC thrown in for good measure...."

As time has passed I have had the opportunity to meet a variety of VCs and there is a common thread I have noticed... There are very few women VC's. (How annoying is that?)

According to a study from Growthink Research of Los Angeles and re:invention, inc., in 2003, women founded only 84 out of 1,860 companies profiled and received $783.8 million worth of venture capital. That amount was just 4.2 percent of the total $19 billion doled out to all companies in the study.- Inc Article

I think there are a few characteristics of VC's I have noticed and maybe women need to tap into them:
1 - Educated Risk Taker: As opposed to stupid risk takers. (They have MBA's from Harvard not University of Phoenix Online.)
2 - Competitive without personal attachment.
3 - Game Orientated (Be a team player AND the star quarterback.)
4 - Confidence! Make a decision without checking for everyone's approval. When's the last time you saw a guy ask his admin assistant for her (his?) opinion on in investment?
5 - Ability to adapt. VC's can change course on a dime if the data shows the need for it. And they know how to cut their losses and move on.
And the most important:
6 - There is no $ ceiling. To expand: I think most women, internally put a cap on their earning potential. Instead of viewing money as a means to an end they see it as a validation of where they fit in the social circle. (I stole that point from Barbara Stanny)

According to vfinance.com the typical Angle Investor "invests in one to four deals a year, looks for a 22 to 50 percent return on investment, and is most likely a self-made millionaire." - Article

Mr. Rich once told me: "Investing is a game of wits. The money doesn't define who I am. I just enjoy being smarter then everyone else at the table."

Monday, October 11, 2004

Ohhh! I'm a search stat.. what confuses me is why they ended up here instead of at my blogs? (Those being Klickatat, Square Zebra, and Rubis Bleu.)

Danielle Lafleur Danielle, one of our favorite readers (she was the first to link to us!), came up on our search stats. Danielle, this can only mean one of two things: either that boy you loved from high school is looking for you to find out what he's been missing, or that girl from the office that hates you is trying to scrounge up some dirt. - Post

An Ohio candidate in a long-shot bid to unseat a 16-term House veteran has an unusual approach in deciding how to spend his campaign. He asks Web surfers... - Article

Oh, I like the web, and blogging, as much as the next geek... call it my little addiction to not paying attention to the real world. But even I get that not everyone out there is blogging. I don't think this is a dumb idea, per say, I simply believe one shouldn't think a blog as your "branding" staple. (Then again I'm anti "donation via pay-pal" icons on blogs...lordy those things annoy me. If you were a non-profit I might think about a donation. But staying in your mama's basement because you're to lazy or prideful to get a job. Instead asking for hand outs from your readers... how rude.)

Your blog is an extension of your company - another form of communicating with your clients. (Granted my blog sucks from time to time because I'm to busy looking at gadgets or pondering Google's health plans to really pay attention to ribbon cable technology, or lack there of.) But I don't for a second think this blog replaces:
5 - Client Relations
4 - Networking
3 - Mailings (paper advertising)
2 - Word of Mouth
and... what I consider the most important:
1 - Doing my job well.

Actions, to me, speak so much louder then words... even if those are in a blog form.

Friday, October 08, 2004

MOXEE, Washington (AP) -- Google, the Internet search engine, has done something that law enforcement officials and their computer tools could not: Identify a man who died in an apparent hit-and-run accident 11 years ago in this small town outside Yakima. - Article

What is so amazing is that it was Google.... not Yahoo, MSN, or even Ask Jeeves (my used to be favorite search engine.) It makes me wonder if Google has superior searching ability or the word of mouth marketing via blogs and some PR has catapulted it to near star status.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Advanced technology, new software applications and a pearl black color have been incorporated in the latest version of the robot, offering more personalized interaction, new tricks and even the ability to house sit. I'm not too sure about the house sitting part, but the stylish color variation does provide a welcome alternative against the other pearlescent-white AIBO robots in the product line. - blog

My favorite part? The house sitting.... when it start's to vacuum my house, do the dishes, and calculate my tax return, then it will be the perfect robotic dog! (Excluding its mandatory 'chase neighbor cat' functionality.)

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Leadership.... boy does that word annoy me more now then ever before. Why? Because 9 times out of 10 those that spout off they have the new fangled leadership "know how" all they really have is a new fad of touchy feely.

Want my definition? (Of course you do, you're here aren't ya?)

Leadership = Wisdom There, that's it.

So how does one (me/dictionary) define wisdom?
1 - The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight
2 - The sum of learning through the ages

I consider Solomon the 'wisest of writers' I have ever come across. His thoughts:
1 - A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels
2 - A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards.
3 - He that has wisdom loves his own soul;...
4 - For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

Sum Up:
A leader will:
1 - A leader will be able to discern and judge what is true
2 - A leader will continue to increase his/her learning
3 - A leader will listen first then make a decision
4 - A leader will value him/herself
5 - A leader will spend time in the council of the wise
6 - A leader will know there is nothing of monetary value that carries more worth then wisdom.

The man (woman) who wanders out of the way of understanding (wisdom) shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

Monday, October 04, 2004

R took me out on Saturday night for a deli dinner and flick (Shark Tale.) At some point our conversation turned to the interviewing habits of Microsoft. R, apparently, has been getting feedback from interviewee's (and co-workers) that he is a "difficult" interviewer. To which I replied with "Duh, you're kind self-centered prick at times." (Don't you love relationships when you can be completely honest towards the the other persons mammoth faults?) Our conversation at Cinerama and my fake interview as follows:

R: I just think they should know what they are talking about.
D: Yeah but do you? Come on, if there are more complaints then compliments doesn't it lead to the fact you might be off centered and not the interviewees?R: Let me interview you.
D: It would be entertaining to find out where you're screwing up at. It's not like you had any other job except working at MS. (Wouldn't want to hire anyone with outside experience! eek) R: *glares*
D: *smiles sweetly*R: Give me a project.
D: Have I done anything? ... *thinking*... Opened the first international office in Canada for a non-profit.R: How did you do that?
D: Told em Canada was my bitch and they had to do what I said....R: *stares*
D: OK... OK, serious... *deep breath to become professional*: It was brought to my attention we, the Executive Staff and Board of Directors, had many requests for our company to open locations in different areas of the world. Via an investigation we decided on Canada, the UK, and Japan were our best choices both culturally and legally. Canada was our first choice. I headed up that project. R: How did you head it up?
D: First I had to create a process, in attempt to relieve any risks or obstacles that might occur. That included, location, dealing with trademark questions, legal issues, R: *interrupting* So you dealt with lawyers?
D: See this might be the first of your problems, interrupting people.R: You were going off on a tangent.
D: You can't let someone finish a thought. R: *Stares at ceiling* Do you think the roof is a square or a rectangle?
D: *looks up*R: Did you deal with lawyers?
D: Yes I did.R: And?
D: And what? R: You're comfortable dealing with lawyers?
D: I didn't say that. I said I dealt with them. If the job requires me to do something, even if I'm not comfortable with it, I can do it. I have no qualms about moving past my comfort zone. Change is something you have to deal with in life and at work. R: What process do you use to hire people?
D: Process of HR.R: What is that process?
D: I don't know, I don't work in HR. R: You're being difficult.
D: You're staring at the ceiling trying to figure out if it's a square or a rectangle. How the heck did you ever get a job as an Engineer?R: I'm Indian - they assume I'm good with computers.
D: Good point.R: I think marketing would be fun.
D: God help us all.R: Ever hire anyone?
D: Yes.R: How did you do that?
D: Sent out a query, looked over responses, picked top 5 applications and did a series of interviews. *taking a deep pause...* Just kidding! I put everyone in a room and played itsy-mini-minie-mo. R: You have really pretty eyes.
D: That's sexual harassment.R: Shhhhh... the movie is about to start.